UNI NOVA – Research Magazine of the University of Basel

• 
  Column

  The Magic Mountain, 4 3 2 1, and Game Changer.

  Text: Jan Pieter Abrahams / My books: Jan Pieter Abrahams, the professor for bioimaging at the Biozentrum, suggests Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, Paul Auster’s 4 3 2 1 and Game Changer by Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan

• 
  Dossier

  “So far, yet so near”: The Middle East.

  Text: Maurus Reinkowski / The current power vacuum in the region between Libya and Afghanistan has left large areas, and whole countries, in a state of permanent crisis. At the same time, the conflicts in the Middle East are encroaching on Europe.

• 
  Dossier

  Social movements and the media.

  Text: David Hermann / Political scientist and Middle East expert Ali Sonay from the University of Basel researches current events in Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia – and the role played in them by the media.

• 
  Dossier

  Is there such a thing as “fair” borders?

  Text: Irène Dietschi / There are many who would blame the wretched state of certain countries today on borders that were arbitrarily and carelessly drawn up by their former colonial powers. Some scholars, however, remain skeptical about this claim.

• 
  Dossier

  My father’s love of the Orient.

  Text: Basil Gelpke / Basel Islamic scholar and drug researcher Rudolf Gelpke (1928–1972) had a lifelong fascination with the Oriental world. Reminiscences collected by his son.

• 
  Dossier

  Syria: Not without the population.

  Text: Samanta Siegfried / For peace to be sustainable, peace talks need to include civil society, says University of Basel political scientist Sara Hellmüller. She was directly involved in an effort to help settle the conflict in Syria.

• 
  Dossier

  Israeli Arabs as bridge builders.

  Text: Alfred Bodenheimer / From segregation to participation: Israel’s Arab citizens could have a key role to play as mediators.

• 
  Dossier

  Re-centering the Middle East.

  Text: Ralph Weber und Madeleine Herren / Time and again, the Middle East has been subjected to external definitions: Europe sees the region as a gateway to Asia, while for present-day China it is part of a vast economic area.

• 
  Dossier

  Poised to enter the modern age.

  Text: Astrid Frefel / Cairo – Egypt’s noisy, polluted and chaotic metropolis of 22 million inhabitants – is to be catapulted into the modern age with a makeover intended to give it a “civilized” appearance.